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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28348698">The Price of the Light</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elyla_Nicholson/pseuds/Elyla_Nicholson'>Elyla_Nicholson</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst and Romance, F/M, Fantasy, Fate &amp; Destiny, Father-Son Relationship, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Son Relationship, Romantic Friendship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:35:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,459</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28348698</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elyla_Nicholson/pseuds/Elyla_Nicholson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>She seemed to him a Mystery, suddenly disappearing and suddenly appearing. She was an ordinary servant, faithfully serving the new kingdom. She tried to live in the shadow of the light. to be invisible. But one day, at the dawn, Roland heard the melody of her soul...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aranella &amp; Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, Aranella &amp; Roland Crane, Aranella/Roland Crane, Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum &amp; Tani, Roland Crane &amp; Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, Tani &amp; Aranella</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Price of the Light</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story was supposed to become a part of my another retelling of Ni no Kuni plot (What do you see at the Depth?) . But I am writing it in Russian and do not have time to translate it into English, so I decided to share one of the episodes of the whole narrative as a separate story.</p><p>Please do not judge strictly for the inaccuracies in the use of expressions and words in the English version. I would be very grateful to everyone who reads my fanfiction to leave recommendations for correcting language errors if you notice inaccuracies in the use of certain words and phrases or in word order. Let's help each other to improve our skills. Thank you!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was particularly difficult night for Roland. Having left his friends, he hid in the library: a wild burning headache and a burning cold flame in his heart intensified towards evening. The pain bothered him before, but in recent days they become more intense. After  Nella's reporting in a letter about victims deprived of their souls, he began to be haunted with the idea that perhaps this could happen to him. The cold flame in the heart did not just cause physical pain, but as if it burned out all the best and brightest in the soul. In the afternoon the pain went away, and in the evening returned. Roland did not want Evan and any of his friends noticed the suffering and worried for him, so he did not say anything to anyone, and tried to hold on as though what had happened. To somehow drown out the torment, Roland locked himself in the library and went to reading until late at night. He did the same that night , but while reading the history of the colonization of ancient tribes of the land many centuries ago, on which Evermore is located, and about the outlandish traditions of the settlers, such a severe pain suddenly flashed in his heart as if he had been stabbed in the chest with a knife . Space and surrounding objects swam before my eyes. Roland, gathering his will into a fist and gritting his teeth, went out into the corridor and, not seeing anything and nobody in front of his eyes, clutching his heart, quickly ran to his room. When he finally reached it, he fell onto the bed and seemed to have completely lost his mind. His head was breaking and burning, as if inside it was cut with tiny red-hot blades, it seemed to him that just about - and he would burn and die. But the cold flame in the heart cooled and did not allow to die, making suffering and torment lasting, as in hell. “Maybe I'm really in hell?”</p><p>Roland flew down somewhere, losing touch with reality. And the same pestering constantly sorrowful pictures and images joined the hellish pain: the reproving look of his son in a wheelchair, his eyes full of tears and fear. Then he is in New York, traveling as a delegation to an important meeting to regulate world security, a crimson star flashes in the sky outside, burning and sweeping everything from the face of the earth, leaving flying ashes and dead sky from life. The flame from the star spread to the remains of the car, which crushed him to the ground, he felt the touch of furious hissing tongues. So hot! But strangely, in the last seconds of the fading of consciousness, he heard someone calling him:</p><p>“Roland!”</p><p>There was fear in the voice.</p><p>But for some reason he still did not die, and his head and body burned so strongly. He was choking.</p><p>Suddenly lying among the burning remnants of the world, he saw an angel descend from heaven. He put a cool white hand on his forehead. The red sky became blue and clear, and emerald-blue stones poured from it, which, reaching it, turned into crystal drops spreading over his face, neck and hands, giving the desired coolness.</p><p>The burning sensation in the head and in the heart began to weaken, he began to float up - to reality. Through the veil separating reality and delirium, he began to make his own room in a vague form, as in the white mist, and the contours of the figures, who sat next to whom he can not been made out. Her hands, emitting a pleasant, refreshing scent, reminiscent of the scent of lemon balm or mint, mixed with the scent of lily of the valley, wiped his hands, neck and face with a piece of soft cloth. Then, carefully, taking the weight of his limp body onto her fragile shoulders, she adjusted the pillows beneath him. With one hand supporting his head, she brought to his mouth a transparent glass, in which some wonderful liquid flickered with azure radiance.</p><p>“Roland, please drink this”.             </p><p>It seemed to Roland that he had plunged into a pond with living water, shimmering in the light of the sun with iridescent flickering glare. The whole body was filled with pleasant coolness and freshness, pain in the heart and head completely stopped, clarity returned to reason. Literally for a second, the foggy veil subsided and he caught green eyes, dark hair, soft movements of his hands, from which he breathed care and tenderness.</p><p>"Can not be! This is…" he again fell into the fog, but this time he was struck not by pain, but by a calm sleep, not having time to realize who became his saving angel.</p><p>When he woke up, he noticed a play of azure-blue light flares on the ceiling. It seemed to him for a moment that he was floating in a gondola through the clear waters of Hydropolis to the traditional melody played by merfolks on every corner of the city on different instruments and in a different way. He rose and felt strong, as if there was no crazy night. Apparently, a really wonderful angel cured him. Roland went to the table and noticed several stems of a strange plant in a small vase: tiny colorful flowers in the form of the finest and lightest brilliant stones of azure, white and emerald colors fluttered on them, shimmering in the morning sun, exuding that very refreshing fragrance that resembled the scent of lemon balm or peppermint. The balm of these herbs saved him. He wondered who brought them. Roland tried to recall the image that had surfaced for a moment, when reason returned to it for a moment. It seemed to him that the outlines of the image resembled his wife, but he regarded this thought as a game of confused reason.</p>
<hr/><p>Roland lost everything that was of value in his world along with the unfortunate world itself. In this world, Roland, together with Evan, acquired another close person - Aranella, who became an excellent work partner, helping to get closer to and get used to the realities of an unfamiliar fantastic universe for him at first, and eventually a wonderful companion, a friend with whom Roland felt himself comfortable, forgetting about the tragedy that befell him. In addition to similar roles in the life of Evan, and then Tani, Roland and Aranella shared common interests, views, while enriching each other with their thoughts, knowledge, experience acquired in different life paths. Roland loved the evenings, when they worked together in the library out of habit, looking for the necessary information, sharing ideas and considerations on diplomatic policy and the arrangement of the state in general. They read aloud to each other books, archives on the history and culture of different countries. In connection with the emergence of the new state of Evermore, a short period of development of which was marked with unprecedented number of heroic achievements, a request was received from the Goldpaw Archive for the provision of factual material for the compilation of the historical chronicle by the supreme scribes. Roland took it upon herself to carry out this assignment, and Aranella volunteered to help him and rendered an invaluable service. She not only read a lot in her entire life, but was able to find the necessary information, deftly noticed subtle details, selected, crystallized and masterfully generalized the essential to background of ocean flowing wordy material. Aranella surpassed her actual age and appearance in her intellectual and personal development. Roland had the impression that she did, in Evan's words, "know everything about everything." Sometimes in the evenings, after their daily chores, they simply lingered in the library and whiled away their free time in interesting communication.</p><p>And now, perhaps due to an incomprehensible fracture in her soul, Aranella disappeared, although in fact she was closely. Roland really lacked communication with Nella in the library, and he wanted so much to see her, to speak with her. He was not accustomed to bare his soul and had not even shared with Nella in detail his emotional experiences before (although it seemed to him that she looked at him with a piercing gaze of large green eyes, as if she already knew everything and was able to read the heart with her gaze), but now he needed her more than ever, and right now she seemed to be absent.</p><p>Roland once again sifted through the memories of their last meetings in order to convince himself that then something had not happened or had not been said that could cause Aranella's distance, but it seemed that he could not remember anything special. If only not the last moment, before their battle and mission in the Broadleaf on the tops of the Hydropolis ruins ... If this is connected with him, then... the crazy thought that Roland tried to bury, muffle in the depths of his mind... No, no, this is impossible and funny ... If it turns out to be true ...</p><p>“Hey, buddy, why are you so gloomy, as if plotting another show of betrayal in front of Evan? Hey-hey, more fun!” Lofty shook the flowers in front of Roland, raising a cloud of pollen into the air, causing him to sneeze.</p><p>Evan, Roland, Tani and Lofty returned to the castle after another expedition.</p><p>“Now there is no need to act closed from your friends,” Roland replied, finding that in thought they had already approached the territory of the castle after one of their expedition.</p><p>“Look at me, Mr. President. If you make us worry about you again, I will beat you with these very hands and will not see that you are Mr. Chief Consul,” Batu growled.</p><p>“Okay, whatever you say, pirate master,” Roland nodded good-naturedly, crossing his arms over his chest.</p><p>“Nella is there, look!” Tani exclaimed</p><p>Wreath for Nella, neatly and carefully woven and tied, Tani carefully carried in her hands. Nella actually walked down the cobbled street with an armful of lush red roses, probably to decorate the vases in the castle.</p><p>“I will run to Nella, I can’t wait to see her!” Tani rushed through the gate down the street to Nella with all her might.</p><p>Evan also wanted to run to a close and dear person, but due to his title he was forced to show restraint in emotions in front of hundreds of courtiers scurrying around nearby, so he walked with a measured step along with Roland and Batu.</p><p>Even the pirate's heart melted at the sight of a touching picture: Tani rushed in a burst of her warm and sincere soul into the arms of Aranella, and then, asking her older friend to bend down, she let go of her thick dark hair from an invariable tail, which cascaded over the girl's shoulders and back, and put on a rainbow wreath on her head. Batu turned away to brush away the avaricious pirate tear, unnoticed by everyone. He was just happy that Tani, who had grown up in a rough male circle, finally got what she really needed in order to grow into what she was destined to become - the motherly warmth witch Aranella shared.</p><p>“How unusual and beautiful Nella is with her hair down and this magic wreath!” Evan exclaimed enthusiastically and, unable to resist, also ran to Nella.</p><p>Roland already seemed to have seen a similar picture: a green-eyed girl with dark thick hair, next to her a boy with even darker hair tries to get out of the stroller to crown his mother's head with a wreath of daisies, but to no avail until his mother bends over to her four-year-old son.</p><p>“Sorry, Mom, I could not get stars to decorate your head, but let there be daisies. Daisies are earthly stars. "</p><p>Roland shuddered. Apparently because of the rushing thoughts, he looked at Aranella for too long. Aranella seemed to feel a gaze on herself, turned around and, accidentally meeting his gaze, lowered her eyes and turned back to Tani and Evan. Unbelievable! Lightning struck Roland's head.</p><p>No. It's gone. It seemed to him. These are all echoes of his strange illness, which strikes the mind and imagination, casting obsessive images. He again felt that his heart was burned for a moment by the familiar devilish cold fire, but, fortunately, he immediately calmed down. Roland took a deep breath and returned to reality. He is in Evermore, and next to him again are his dear friends – Evan, Tani, Batu, Lofry, Aranella…</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>After defeating of Brineskimmer and the conclusion of the peaceful alliance with Queen Nerea, the absurd laws forbidding getting sick, climbing to heights and, most importantly, loving were canceled. And immediately the citizens of the city, who seemed to be carriers of some incomprehensible secret and as if frozen, came to life, felt the refreshing wind of freedom. The all-seeing eye of Hydropolis no longer pursued and controlled every step, the soldiers no longer guarded the entrances to the stairs leading to the roof, from which a stunning view of the azure-blue sea was opened. Merfolks and people walked along the romantic streets, daring to finally reveal to each other the feelings that all this time had to be suppressed or hidden in the invisible depths of the soul, so that the All-Seeing Eye could not penetrate its caches and read what secret forbidden thoughts they hid. The tension, which seemed to make even the air heavy, threw its chains off Hydropolis life.</p><p>That night, after a hard battle, Evan, Aranella, Roland, Tani and Batu stopped at the Queen Nereid`s underwater castle, which was accessed by a secret elevator carefully guarded by guards. Roland compared the principle of a monarch's residence to the principles of a submarine. Outside, nothing could be seen above the water, except for the elevator in the form of a round blue slippery elevator platform, covered with a luxurious canopy held over the columns, with stucco patterns. A whole kingdom lay deep at the bottom. Evan and his friends walked on the smooth glass floor, blinded by the whiteness of pearl statues. The walls were made with glass to observe the view of the colorful seabed, represented by multi-colored underwater plants, corals, sea shells, inside which lay huge glowing pearls, fish and unprecedented underwater fish and creatures that looked like mermaids, but it was an outlandish rare species sea creatures with a translucent body, like a jellyfish. They did not have such a soul as humans, merfolks, grimalkins and other races. A wonderful feature of these mermaids was their voice - charming, mesmerizing with its purity, sonorousness and songs that touch the deep strings of the heart. But they could be heard only at sea depths at night or in windy and cloudy weather, because the heat of the sun painfully affected them: they began to melt. In rare cases, they could rise to the sea surface. This usually happened before dawn, when the sun had not yet had time to rise over the horizon.</p><p>The totalitarian atmosphere of Hydropolis in recent years has affected the behavior of mermaids: they left the territory of the state and swam into distant waters. The inhabitants of Hydropolis have not heard their voices since then.</p><p>Another unique property of the singing and songs of mermaids was that their songs could embody the melody of the mood, the secret spiritual motives of the person whom they met at dawn, if, of course, they liked his soul melody. It was a rare good fortune to hear the embodied melody outside, around us that the lips could not convey.</p><p>“Look, look! What amazing creatures!” Tani exclaimed as Leander led the guests down the marble corridors. Tani jumped to the window, bewitched by the iridescent tints of the transparent body of the mermaids.</p><p>Leander looked in the direction that Tani was pointing. Suddenly, his always seemingly unemotional face lit up alternately with surprise and then delight.</p><p>“Amazing! They are back!” Leander gasped.</p><p>“Who are they? Are they mermaids?” Aranella asked, also approaching the glass and carefully studying the azure fins of the mermaid.</p><p>“We call them <em>wondrous singers</em> as a species of the genus of mermaids. But... it can't be...”</p><p>“What can't be? Are <em>wondrous singers</em> rare creatures in Hydropolis?” Roland asked.</p><p>“In recent times - yes, a rarity. Wondrous singers did not want to live in the conditions of the harsh regime, which we were forced to maintain with Queen Nereida. We are very sorry that it happened, ladies and gentlemen,” Leander explained apologetically.</p><p>“Wondrous singers seem to be very freedom-loving creatures,” Evan remarked. “And so beautiful!”</p><p>Leander led each of the guests into separate luxurious apartments, which were stylized as the depths of the sea with figurines, molding on the walls with nautical motifs, colorful patterned designs that imitate the seabed. Tani was delighted with the white sink-shaped bed in her room.</p><p>At about eleven o'clock in the morning, the guests, exhausted after a difficult battle, fell into a deep, deep sleep. Roland slept only four hours. He could not fall asleep again because of the insomnia that often tormented him. He went to the window, also in the form of a rounded open white shell, behind which an unusual view of the seabed opened up: it was densely dark, since the sun, apparently, had not yet risen. But even with the rising sun, rare rays fell to this depth, bringing in a very small fraction of the light. Roland liked the castle’s unusual territorial resolution, but he had enough admired the seabed through the windows of the room and the transparent walls in the corridors, and he wanted to go up.</p><p>Rising on a round platform to land, he breathed in the fresh sea air with delight. It was still dark, but a strip of light appeared on the horizon: the night was just beginning to dissipate. The streets remained completely deserted, as if there was not a single soul in the city. Hydropolis seemed bewitched. Roland enjoyed the peace and quiet as he strolled the streets. The silence was broken only by the sound of a surf.</p><p>In the meantime, it had already cleared up, but the sun was still standing behind the curtains of the horizon, before stepping onto a large heavenly stage and announcing the beginning of a big action - the awakening of the day, the city and nature.</p><p>Roland decided to take advantage of the declared official freedom and climb the roof of the building at the pier, famous for its breathtaking views. He listened with delight to his own footsteps, which echoed off the slabs of the road and walls and died away. As he neared the steps, he paused when he heard a melody join the echo of his footsteps - someone's delightful muffled singing. It was an unimaginably beautiful singing - some kind of completely inhuman, supernatural. The sea seemed to be singing (as far as one can imagine that the sea sings and how it sings). The melody was very gentle, touching; when it sounded, it seemed as if the soul was being healed, filled with harmony; its sound was drawn into the imagination in the form of an iridescent crystal; the heart softened. But there was one quality in the melody: it felt a hidden sadness and some feeling of total loneliness, spreading with pure azure-emerald tears, drops of refreshing rain from the slopes of high mountains onto green meadows with fresh grass washed with dew ... The melody ended, leaving room for the lung the rustling of the surf, hitting the colonnades that supported the edge of the canopy.</p><p>The longer Roland listened to it, the more it began to seem to him that he had heard it, she was dear to him, but forgotten ... But in Evermore and in this reality he definitely never heard her. Then where and when?</p><p>Roland climbed to the roof of the shed, propped up by dilapidated columns - the one on which they staged a marriage proposal to Tani by Evan. The melody ended, leaving room for the gentle rustle of the surf hitting the colonnades that supported the edge of the canopy that extended even further than land — just above the sea. At the very edge of it was a familiar figure in a gray-blue dress, which stood pensively, gazing into the distance. Her hair, hastily pinned up, was fiddling with the wind. A little shivering from the morning freshness and invigorating wind, she wrapped herself in a white knitted shawl.</p><p>Roland, silently, so as not to alarm Aranella with his unexpected sharp intervention, slowly walked towards her. He walked from the side and maybe it seemed to him, but he saw that with a quick, light movement, she brushed away a tear, as if she was ashamed of this. Roland had never seen Aranella in tears in his life, not even on the day she nearly died. She always seemed stable and peaceful, which is impressive for a young girl. But, probably, there is another side of life, there is an invisible struggle and pain incomprehensible to others.</p><p>Roland accidentally stepped on a pebble that rolled under the sole of his boots. Aranella shuddered and turned around. There were no reddish marks on her face, which would indicate that she was crying, her face was completely dry. But Roland was always drawn to her eyes, so he paid attention to them as he approached: they shone like emeralds, washed by the clear morning dew.</p><p>“Were there wondrous singers here?”</p><p>“Yes,” Aranella nodded.</p><p>Darkness was almost completely visible, but the sky was covered with black clouds, so the sun's rays could not penetrate through them and disperse the remnants. The darkness replaced the shadow that covered the snow-white walls of buildings. It seems that some kind of spell has been imposed on the city again. The wind blew in, the waves intensified and beat the columns mercilessly, scattering angry foam. Today is going to be a storm, Roland thought.</p><p>Suddenly, behind them, a strange crackling and splashing of water was heard, as if a large cobblestone had broken off from the wall and flopped into the sea. Roland turned, but he found nothing special that would be a consequence of this crack. He, too, stood next to Nella, and they were silent, listening to the sound of the surf and the desperate cry of the seagulls, which were either crying or laughing, spinning in the air and touching the surface of the waves with snow-white fans-wings.</p><p>The sun again tried to claim its rights, coming close to the clouds, as a result of which a small dark area was filled with unpolished spilled gold with an admixture of gutted ash, but the city remained in the shadow, and the azure sea turned black.</p><p>There was a crackling sound again, and not one, but several in different places, and even under Roland's feet.</p><p>“What is it?” Roland asked.</p><p>“Haven`t you guessed? What is destined to happen to Hydropolis sooner or later,” answered Aranella calmly, without taking her eyes off the sea distance. “The time has come. Hydropolis is doomed.”</p><p>Roland looked at Aranella questioningly.</p><p>“Four unbreakable laws that kept the necessary balance to preserve the city have been canceled. The balance is already beginning to break. The process is irreversible, but it will not happen immediately, but very slowly and gradually. What we have heard are only precursors. The city has just begun to burst at the seams and will crumble into small pieces imperceptibly, it will not greatly affect the way of life of people. The wedding day of Leander and Queen Nereid, when the Reverse Time spell is officially removed, will probably put a worthy end to this city, which has been on the periphery of time and space for so long. Hydropolis will sink to the bottom like a ship hitting an iceberg.”</p><p>Aranella's voice trailed off, as if vanished into waves. Roland's eyes again flashed the image of a crimson apocalyptic rocket-star, flying from the sky and destroying life of his world. Once upon a time, a barefoot child's foot stepped on the green grass and a cheerful laughter sounded, where people created, loved and lived in striving. And in an instant, rock, snatching out the canvas of the picture, crosses everything out, tears it into small pieces and throws it into the fiery womb. There was a question…</p><p>“Was it worth it?” Roland didn't notice as he spoke the thought out loudly.</p><p>Aranella looked at him with a penetrating look, like eyes on the text on a sheet, running through the lines of his thoughts and heartfelt confusion. Her breathing suddenly quickened, as if excitement seized her, but she carefully concealed it.</p><p>“Was it worth it? Are faith, creativity, hope, happiness worth? Is the love worth when it leads you from the periphery of life to its depths and further, much further, where the sky merges with the earth, where eternity kisses your step and blesses your aspiration and your creativity, your joy and your pain, your gains and your losses, replenishing their full,” Aranella spoke passionately at the same time in a calm voice. Roland did not completely decipher her figurative speech with his mind, but somewhere in his soul he merged with the deep meaning that stood on the other side of these symbolic figurative rows. His heart felt warm.</p><p>“Roland, a single moment of happiness, a single moment of love, even in the middle of a storm or a fire tickling with heat, is the fullness of a whole life and more, a life directed towards the horizon, into infinity.”</p><p>Silence reigned between them again. It seemed to Roland that he was bathed in the warmth of the imaginative meanings that Aranella unfolded in front of him. He looked at her: she again stood motionlessly and looked into the distance. And he began to notice that there is something sad in her face and in her image. He hadn't thought about it before.</p><p>“Aranella,” said Roland, “forgive me, please, I involuntarily overheard the melody that the wondrous singers were humming. Isn't that... your melody?”</p><p>Aranella looked a little embarrassed and nodded.</p><p>“I know this is very personal… The melody is incredibly beautiful, but there is… loneliness in it, isn`t it?”</p><p>Now Roland was trying to read from Nella's eyes, which were dark green in the shadows and therefore deep as the bottom of a lake at night.</p><p>“But I thought you were happy. You always have such warmth, energy, confidence. Evan is with you, and the kingdom you dreamed of is expanding before our eyes.”</p><p>Aranella took a deep breath.</p><p>“I am alone in my lack of aspiration. No, I'm really happy. Happy with Evan's happiness, now with Tani’s happiness - with the happiness of others. I live by their aspirations, I grab onto them in order to move on in life for the sake of love for people dear to me. But I don't see my own strategic aspirations. It is as if I cannot cling to anything - that is intended specifically for me. Ambition and plans are far from me.” Aranella paused, thinking of what she had said. “But this very moment in which I love is dear to me. I feel life in it, it is my past, present and future in it, all the fullness. And nature can tell much more about it. And also... I am alone... in my fear. I'm afraid…”</p><p>“Are you afraid?” Roland asked. Nella could admit the superiority of her enemies, worry, beware, worry, but she never showed fear, even when the flame sent by the Dark Knight flew in her face.</p><p>“I'm afraid ... of the meaninglessness of life. I dreamed of a kingdom in which everyone would live happily ever after, in which the inhabitants of all races would be united by something more than just a competent device - and Evan, thanks to a kind, wise heart, succeeded and still succeeds in building it. But centuries will pass, generations and dynasties will change, forgetting the foundations of the fathers, or they will be left as a dead letter of the code and, inspired with the power, they will devalue what is significant and unchanging. This will be another Evermore. The meaninglessness of life is the deprivation of the world of the soul, making it stone and terrible. The result is the death of your world, Roland. The same thing can happen here one day. The meaninglessness of life is a bare desert, dry earth and ash. It is an abyss and horror. And I am terribly afraid of this abyss!” Aranella suddenly covered her face with her hands.</p><p>Roland revealed another side of Aranella's soul - unknown, hidden for everyone else. She reminded him of the very ray of the sun that tried unsuccessfully to break through the thickness of the gray clouds. Everyone saw in Aranella a fearless and kind girl who boldly goes forward and generously shares the warmth of her big heart. It seemed that this source of light in her was indestructible and inexhaustible - and it was so, but no one suspected at what cost this light got to her, what abyss in her soul she had to overcome, to root for everyone and peace with her soul. This is the price of the light. And she is always alone in the struggle ...</p><p>Roland suddenly wanted so much to stand side by side with her in this struggle, to help her, to protect her from fears, to share her burden on her heart.</p><p>“Nella,” he said. Aranella removed her hands from her face. It turned out she was not crying (or holding back her emotions). Roland suddenly didn’t know what to say and fell silent.</p><p>“Roland, you are a close friend to me. I shared with you, because you can understand me better than anyone. Please let this conversation remain between us.” Aranella looked at Roland pleadingly.</p><p>“You don't have to ask me about it: I already understand everything,” Roland looked softly at Nella, putting his hand on her shoulder.</p><p>Aranella smiled in gratitude and turned back to the sea. It was already fully dawn, and the sun did not appear from under the clouds. Roland thought Nella wanted to be alone with her thoughts.</p><p>“I'll leave you then. I'll see you at the castle for breakfast.”</p><p>The girl turned as if she wanted Roland to stay with her, but she only replied:</p><p>“Yes, see you later.”</p><p>Roland started toward the landing when he felt another crack, but this time it alerted him. It was long crack from the beginning of the canopy to the edge, on which Aranella was standing, oblivious to what was happening behind. Then a crack appeared on the colonnade, and after a strong shock of the wave, it began to go into the water, enticing pieces of the broken roof with it into the water. One moment - and Aranella would fell and break on sharp hard rocks, or drown, knocked down by flying fragments of ruins.</p><p>“Nella!” Roland ran up and grabbed Aranella's arm, dragging her to safety towards the stairs. But almost at the entrance, the roof collapsed under Aranella's feet.</p><p>Roland reacted quickly and managed to grab Nella in the air, pulling her towards him.</p><p>“I'm holding! It's all right, Nella. ” Roland hugged Aranella tightly. She still not recovered from the sudden shock, trembled slightly in his arms.</p><p>Fortunately, they were already in a stable area by the stairs. Nothing else cracked around. Apparently, the process of the wreck of the ship called Hydropolis began from the most vulnerable places, such as colonnades, bridges and awnings.</p><p>Having come to their senses and calmed down, Roland and Aranella, without moving away, looked at the airspace, where they stood two minutes ago and talked as if nothing had happened, and laughed.</p><p>Sunlight broke through the path to the heavenly canvas, the clouds began to part before him; the birds sang joyfully. The city is dressed in fine golden gilding. The dark sea brightened and calmed down.</p><p>Aranella, who stood with her head bent to Roland's chest, turned, attracted by the sunlight. Roland noticed that Aranella's eyes changed color depending on the light. Now they have cleared up and have become transparent emerald, like selected crystal. Aranella was so close, Roland could not take his eyes off her eyes - those sources of light and tenderness with which they were overwhelmed. And now Aranella looked at him somehow strangely, mysteriously, awakening in his memory a distant native image. These same emerald eyes, into which you want to gaze forever as an image of the fullness of this life…</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Roland and Aranella is a couple of my dream. I have seen them together since the beginning of the game. I created a whole theory of Roland &amp; Aranella link. I hope I will introduce this theory one day.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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